Thursday, November 5, 2009

"pro-Western" person from Iraq

The Asylum Officer asked this of Mr. Z, a Shia from Iraq, who supported the USA and advocated for "Western" values:-you arrived in USA when? what was your last address in your country? Tell me your last four addresses in your country-why are you applying for asylum today?-when did you get your first passport? how get it? when did you get your second passport? where is it today? do the stamps inside the passport give us more information than you can?=did your family ever live in the Green Zone? why not? there was space, or there was not?-what day were you kidnapped in June 2006? you were held for how long? how many hours?When were you released? why? why weren't you killed?-You say the taxi driver delivered you to the bad guys, because he "knew"you were Shia?how did he know you were Shia?-you were driven to a "check point"? what does "check-point" mean? you must stop there, or not?-is a Shia accent different from a Sunni accent? yes? no? it is different or not? what is the difference?=why did the bad guys let you go? why didn't they kill you?-some people have a "Southern" accent? some people have a "Baghdad" accent?-don't Shia people and Sunni people both live in Baghdad? so their accents are the same or different?-is your last name Shia? if a person looks at your I.D., he knows your last name and can guess that you are a Shia? the driver did not look at your I.D., did he? so, he did not know your last name, did he?-here in the USA, accents do not reveal religion, do they? if someone has a "New York" accent, do you know what religion he is?-do Shia people use certain words and phrases, but Sunnis do not? like what?=what were your injuries at the time of your release? a head wound, with stitches? but Dr. X wrote a letter and does not talk about your stitches?-You gave me a letter from Dr. X, but you did not actually read it? I, the Asylum Officer, know more about his letter than you do? I read it, but you didn't?-did you return to school, or were you too traumatized? what does page 4 of your asylum application say? something different from what you just said? I, the Asylum Officer, know more about your asylum application than you do?-your uncle's letter says you returned to school? yes? No? you don't know? you gave me his letter, but you did not read it?-you say you were kidnapped. Did you tell anyone that you had been kidnapped? did you tell them very soon after the event? or, did you wait a long time and then tell them?-when did someone paint a slogan on the wall of your house? what year did that happen? what was the address of the house?-what would happen if you return to your country?-you arrived in USA in early 2008, but you only applied for asylum in mid-2009? why the delay? was it hard to find out about the asylum process? was it hard to find a lawyer?-have you had any contact with police here in the USA?-ever had any training with guns? have you ever held and shot a gun?-is there anything else? YES? what?OK, now, is there anything else?